[pepsi_junkie]

On a vaguely related note, as I approach 50 I sat down with a personal finance guy because college is approaching and wanted to make sure I have that covered properly and the negative impacts of the new federal tax laws (which hammer those of us stuck in NJ) are minimized. I've always just done all my financial planning myself but what the hell, a sanity check isn't a bad thing.

We talked a bit about retirement and he asked when I thought I wanted to retire. I told him and he said "everyone under 50 says 60 or 62. But When they are 60 they never retire, even if they are loaded. They may quit their job, but they get another one part time or something of that sort. Most people come to feel that it's too long to do nothing and to milk your nest egg if you stop earning that young." He wasn't advising me to work 'til I'm 70 or anything, he was just saying that younger people all ask him to plan for their retirement at 60 and when 60 rolls around none of them actually retire. I thought that was interesting.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Frankly I don’t know that I could ever fully retire after watching my dad. He spent his days puttering around the house, looking for stuff to occupy his time. I think I’d go nuts.

[proxy_user]

I retired at age 61. I am so busy, I can’t figure out how I ever had time to go to work.

[Alberta's Child]

My goal is to follow the example of one of my heroes ... a former client of mine in western Canada. He "retired" from his first career at the age of 55 ... then worked 5+ days a week at his second career until he began losing his faculties at the age of 85. He was independently wealthy within five years of his first retirement.

"Retirement is for quitters." LOL.

[wbill]

My grandfather told me that "no one ever died wishing they spent more time at the office". Of course, he was busier after he retired, than before.

I think that the key is to have a good plan for what you're going to do. "Putter around the house, maybe travel some" is a start, but not a very good one.

[tm61]

my wife and I are both 58, financial guy says we can retire at 62, if wheels dont blow off the economy,. Both of us figure to find part time jobs doing “something we like”,
whatever that may be

we dont play golf, and you have to keep moving...,